Father Tommy Conway, narrator, listens as choirs from across the Pine Belt sing Dec. 10 at the second annual Extra Table Christmas Concert at the Saenger Theater.

The year 2013 has been a challenging one for Hattiesburg. An EF4 tornado blew through town in February, we endured five months of election uncertainty that forced the city to take sides, the future of the medical community is unsure, enrollment at the University of Southern Mississippi is down, and their football team spent a second year in the loss column until the final game.

This town needed a win.

That win came on the evening of Dec. 10 at the Saenger Theater in the form of the Extra Table Christmas Concert. A patchwork choir made up of area high school choral groups and a few local citizens stood together on stage and, with the help of a locally compiled symphony orchestra, presented the show of the year. Jay Dean conducted the orchestra, and Father Tommy Conway narrated the Christmas story as only he could. It was a beautiful evening. The event was held to help your hometown non-profit Extra Table defer its minimal administrative costs, continuing to make sure that 100 percent of donations for food continue to go to purchase healthy food throughout the year.

As is typical in our community, many people stepped up to the plate to make this event a reality. I would like to remind my fellow citizens of the dedication we have in this area for supporting worthwhile causes, and the degree to which our community reaches out to help.

Forrest General Hospital was the Extra Table Christmas Concert title sponsor for a second consecutive year. Evan Dillard and Millie Swan made sure that the primary expenses were covered for this amazing concert enabling all ticket sales to benefit Extra Table. We continue to be grateful for this world-class facility filled with world-class individuals. Southern Bone and Joint was our co-sponsor, sharing the financial burden with the hospital. Southern Bone and Joint's Leigh Anne Underwood stepped up to the plate and knocked it out of the park for us. I think everyone in this town should know all of the physicians at Southern Bone and Joint decided not to give Christmas gifts to each other this year, but instead, took the money they would have spent (and more) and used it to sponsor this concert. That is just another in a long list of reasons why I love living in Hattiesburg.

Russ Henley and Hattiesburg Coca-Cola have never said no to Extra Table and he continued that streak Tuesday evening. The Greater PineBelt Community Foundation has partnered with Extra Table from Day 1, and we are so grateful for their guidance. The musicians of the Hattiesburg Concert Association were instrumental in the evening's performance along with the William Carey and University of Southern Mississippi's music departments. The Saenger Theater bent over backwards for us at every turn and hundreds of volunteers worked for weeks to make sure that the event was executed flawlessly. Extra Table's two full-time employees, Raven Tynes and Laura Hunt, made this concert their entire life for eight weeks. Thank you, ladies.

The choral directors at local high schools are overworked and underpaid, yet they took on the task of teaching their students this symphonic program while they had their own holiday programs to present. They nailed it.

I know I speak for all citizens of the Pine Belt when I, once again, remind us how lucky we are to have Dr. Dean in this community.

When I first heard this program 15 years ago it instantly put me in the Christmas spirit. I knew that I wanted to bring it back to Hattiesburg one day as an annual kickoff to the holiday season and use it as a vehicle to put everyone in the Christmas spirit.

What I never realized - until last year's performance - was how much one single event could "feel" like community. That was our community up on stage singing for the 640,000 Mississippians, and the 21,000 citizens of Forrest and Lamar counties, who suffer from hunger daily. I have never been more proud to be a citizen of this city.

Students and choral directors at Hattiesburg, North Forrest, Petal, Presbyterian Christian, Oak Grove and Sacred Heart schools took three days out their lives to bring this community together for one evening. They were the catalyst.

Petal and Oak Grove might have been rivals on the football field a few weeks ago, but that Tuesday evening, students stood shoulder to shoulder to sing Christmas carols. That is why I love the people of this community.

The event ended with snow falling on Forrest Street and the hopes that 2014 will be a better year for the Pine Belt and its people. It's been a tough few months, but our future is bright because we have each other. As long as we keep moving forward, working together and reaching out to help our fellow man, the future is bright.